Twisted By Love, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1 (15 page)

Instead of waiting, at eight o’clock he took
the elevator down to her floor. The empty car closed in on him
slightly. Then the door opened, and the sight of her made his
breath stop in his lungs. Her suit was black, her hair curling over
her shoulders, her lips luscious and kissable, her legs bare, and
the high heels sexy as all get-out. He forgot about her sister and
any thought of telling Livie the truth.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she quipped, her
voice a note huskier than normal as if she saw the sexual thoughts
stamped on his face. His suit jacket was buttoned, but his body had
already reacted to her.

The doors slid shut behind her, and Bern drew
her close. He didn’t hit the garage button. The car wouldn’t move
unless someone pushed a button on another floor. Holding her gaze,
he wrapped his hand around her nape. Her briefcase dropped to the
floor with a thud.

“I’ve been thinking about this for
twenty-four hours,” he said softly.

Her breath hitched. Then she pulled his head
down. Her lips parted, taking the kiss deep, drawing him in over
his head. He felt his heart beating again, as if everything had
ceased to function until the moment he saw her. Leaning back
against the wall, he held her tight, but the kiss was all hers. As
if she’d been dreaming of it all day, she devoured him.

He turned, pinning her. Spreading the lapels
of her blazer, he put his hands to her waist, sliding up, coasting
over the sides of her breasts, then flicking a nipple.

She moaned, but held the lip-lock. The skirt
was flared, and her bare legs beckoned. Bern bent slightly at the
knees, running his fingers beneath the hem, up her smooth skin. He
cupped her butt, held her tight, letting her feel what she did to
him.

She finally broke away, gulping air, as if
she hadn’t taken a breath as she kissed him. “How do you do
that?”

“Do what?” he whispered as his lips coasted
across her cheek to find her earlobe. He bit lightly, and she
groaned.

“Make me crazy, like I’ll do anything.”

“Because you want it, too.” In the next
moment, he slipped beneath the elastic of her panties and found her
center. She was wet.

“Bern, oh God.” Clutching his shoulders, she
squirmed against him, breathing hard. “Isn’t there a camera in here
or something?” Despite the question, she didn’t push him away.

“No camera. No one will see. And the car will
start moving if someone pushes a button.” He stroked her lightly,
and she moved with his rhythm, panting now. “I’ve wanted this,
Livie. Every time I rode in the elevator with you.”

She raised a foot, curling her leg around the
back of his knee. “I want it.” She gasped as he delved deeper.”
Right here.” She closed her eyes, put her head back, let out a
long, delicious sigh. “Every time I get on the elevator, even with
a crowd of people around us, I want to remember what you did to
me.”

“You wild, dirty girl.”

“I want it all,” she insisted, shoving her
hand between them and palming his erection.

“Christ, yes.” Bending his head, he bit her
throat like a lion ready to mate. His body moved, pumping against
her hand.

“Do you have a condom?” She panted as he
played her. He hadn’t stopped.

“Busted.” He had one in his pocket. One would
have thought he’d been planning this. But he hadn’t. He’d simply
carried one since Friday in her office. He couldn’t help himself.
He needed the physical with her as well as the spiritual.

“Then put it on.”

He donned it in what seemed like two seconds
flat, then hoisted Livie against the elevator wall. Holding her
aloft, her legs around his waist, he stopped. “Are you sure?”

She laughed. Then she took his mouth with a
hard, deep kiss. “It’s way too late to back out.” Pulling her pink
silk panties aside, she tightened her legs around him, drawing him
closer, pulling him in.

In a way, he was taken rather than the other
way around. Livie urged him on with her mouth, her words, her arms,
her legs. She panted, purred his name, gasped as he plunged high
and deep, pumping into her relentlessly, mindlessly, until she
cried out his name. Her body milked him as he fell over the edge,
tumbling down into bliss right along with her.

Chapter Fourteen

Livie couldn’t get enough of him. She’d gone
home with him after that hot, kinky, exciting episode in the
elevator last night. They’d made love two more times, then she’d
slept in his bed and woken in his arms.

She’d have been with him now except for her
Wednesday dinner with Toni. As usual, Toni was late. Livie hadn’t
even thought of her sister while she was with Bern, but now, as she
sat alone in the restaurant, checking her watch and sipping her
wine, her guilt started to rise again. Toni was having a bad time.
Livie should have at least checked in with her.

The waiter kept glancing her way, raising an
eyebrow, as he moved swiftly between the tables carrying trays,
taking orders, sending the busboys with water. Livie tried not to
drink her wine too fast.

She hadn’t sent a text in case Toni was
driving. Toni had been known to type with one hand, the other on
the wheel. One of these days, she’d get caught and have a hefty
fine to pay, which would be a hell of a lot better than causing an
accident. After twenty minutes, Livie finally called. Toni didn’t
answer. Another fifteen minutes passed, her wineglass was empty,
she’d devoured a dinner salad because she was starving, and Toni
was still a no-show and a no-answer. Livie was starting to feel
like a spectacle in the crowded restaurant.

Dammit, she should have paid more attention.
What if Toni had come by her apartment last night and figured out
Livie had been gone all night long? God, she was stupid.

She signaled her waiter. “Could you get me
the check, please?”

“Your friend isn’t coming?” He seemed
sympathetic enough.

“I’m afraid not.”

She paid the bill and left a generous tip.
Back in her car, she headed to Toni’s apartment. No one there.
Livie shuddered. She knew where Toni was. Livie had no choice but
to return to her condo. She could see it now, Toni on her couch,
crying, asking where she’d been, claiming she’d forgotten about
dinner.
You’re never here when I need you, Livie.
But Livie
had always been there to pick up the pieces.

But Toni wasn’t at her place either. Toni
wasn’t anywhere. She’d disappeared.

* * * * *

Livie had said she wasn’t coming over
tonight, dinner with her sister.

Her sister. Antonia. Last night had been so
hot, so sweet, and Bern hadn’t told Livie the truth. She’d slept,
her body flush against his, without having a single nightmare. He
wanted to think he made her feel safe. He needed more nights like
that, enough so that she’d choose him over her sister. He had no
doubt that Antonia would demand a choice between them. He wasn’t
sure he’d win.

His doorbell chimed through the house, and
Bern’s heart raced. Livie was here. She had to see him. She
couldn’t wait until tomorrow. His head told him it was way too
early, but his heart pushed him to the door, almost at a jog.

When he opened it, his blood ran cold.

Antonia Scott wore a dress so low cut he
swore he could see a hint of nipple. The skirt was tight, short,
her legs miles long in high heels. She was sexy as hell,
hell
being the operative word. That’s where Antonia Scott
dragged her men, straight to hell. He was sure many went gladly
just for a taste between her thighs.

He wasn’t one of those men. And she wasn’t
her sister.

A primal growl rose up in his throat. He
stuffed it back down. “What do you want?”

She was over the threshold and into his house
before he realized her intention. She strolled into his family
room, leaving him to trail her. He didn’t close the front door.
He’d have rather died than be stuck in a closed room with her. He
could ignore his uneasiness in small places, but Antonia made the
walls of his own home close in on him.

“You wouldn’t take my calls. So I had to come
apologize in person.”

His only thought: where was Livie? Antonia
was supposed to be with her. He steeled himself. “An apology isn’t
necessary.”

She was suddenly close. He didn’t back up.
You never showed weakness around this woman.

“But I want to start over, do things
differently. I made mistakes.” She put out a hand to touch him,
stopped short of making contact when he eyed her.

“That isn’t going to happen. We don’t have a
common ground on which to start over. You need to go now.”

“Why?” she whispered, her gaze flinty. “Are
you expecting someone?”

She knew. In that moment, he was certain of
it. Toni—yeah, call her by the name her sister used—Toni knew he’d
been with Livie.

“I’m not playing your games,” he said.

She stepped an inch closer, gazed up at him,
her lips pouty and seductive, her eyes still as cold as steel.
“It’s not a game. I want you. It doesn’t have to be anything
permanent. It’s just sex.” She licked her lips, making her gloss
sparkle. “I want it. It’s all I think about. But once I’ve had it,
I’ll be over it. You’ll be rid of me then.”

“Forget it.” He didn’t move.

She was so close, her nipples brushed his
chest. He felt nothing, no automatic tightening in his groin, no
heat like wildfire across his skin. Nothing like he felt with
Livie.

“I know you want it,” she whispered.

“Don’t waste your breath.”

“I don’t need to,” she said softly, smiling,
then she looked coyly past his shoulder.

He knew, though there’d been no sound, no
gasp, no word of reproach, just the sweet scent of Livie in the
room.

* * * * *

It was utter perfection. The horror on
Livie’s face. Her eyes wide, her lips slightly parted, she stared
at Bern with a pathetic little pucker on her brow.

Toni seethed. She wasn’t sure whether it was
with delight or anger.

“I knew you were seeing someone behind my
back,” she snarled at Livie. “You stole him just like you steal
everything from me.”

Livie stared, her mouth working like a
fish.

“Hey.” Bern grabbed her shoulder. “Leave her
alone. She didn’t have to steal anyone from you. You were already
history.”

She wanted to smack him. His words were so
callous, stripping her raw. But they were perfect for Livie,
grinding home all the guilt her big sister would feel.

Toni wrenched away from Bern and stalked the
room, until she was right in Livie’s face. She lowered her voice,
but the venom was just as lethal. “He was mine, and you took him.
You knew all along, didn’t you.”

“No.” Livie put out a hand as if she were
trying to ward Toni off. “You were seeing Reese. What does he have
to do with Bern?”

Toni stabbed her finger in Bern’s direction.
“It’s his middle name.” Then she turned mean. “Or didn’t you know
that about him?” She leaned in. “He knew, Livie. He must have
known. He probably enjoyed having both sisters, playing us off
against each other.”

Then she felt Bern’s hand close around her
arm hard enough to bruise. “That’s enough. Get out of my house.
Now.”

“Livie,” she wailed. “Are you going to let
him do this? After everything I told you about him, all the things
he did to me? Remember it all? I told you
everything
.”

Livie, her pathetic big sister, was still
staring, her eyes glassy with moisture.

“Come with me now,” Toni urged. “Prove you
didn’t know what was going on. I can forgive you if you really
didn’t know. We can be like we were before, just you and me.” She
flashed a look at Bern. His dark brows furrowed together, his
jagged face made uglier by a threatening glower. He looked like the
devil. “Don’t let him come between us, Livie. He isn’t worth it.
That’s what you told me. Listen to yourself.”

Bern propelled her to the front hall, threw
her out into the night, slammed the door behind her. She wasn’t
beaten. She’d ruined it for Livie. Her sister would be crawling
home in a few minutes, begging forgiveness, claiming she didn’t
know. She’d remember everything Toni had said, how
Reese
made love to her, how good he was, all the dirty sexual details.
Livie would realize Toni had been with him right before she was. Oh
yes, she’d put two and two together and get five. Bern would deny
it, but Toni knew her sister. Livie would believe her. All those
naughty details Toni had so deliberately fed her would eat her
alive.

Toni ran down the street to her car. She’d
parked out of sight, this very thing in mind.

She climbed in, locked the door. Then she
rolled up her sleeve. He hadn’t left bruises. Too bad. It would
have been another nail in his coffin. Not that it mattered. She’d
known he wouldn’t take her back. But she’d screwed him over good;
Livie would never believe a word he said, not ever again.

* * * * *

Livie stared at him as if she didn’t know who
he was, as if she hadn’t made love to him last night, as if he’d
never held her in his arms. The look in her eyes tore at him.

“
You’re
Toni’s Reese?” Her voice was
small. She pursed her lips. She didn’t look him in the eye, but
stared at his mouth, as if she’d miss his answer if she didn’t keep
a close watch.

“Reese is my middle name. And yes, I dated
Antonia. I didn’t realize she was your sister until—” He stopped,
knowing his words were burying him.

“Until when?” she prompted.

“The other night. You called her Toni. I
should have realized it the first day you and I talked, but—”

She didn’t let him finish. “But you knew for
sure on Monday night.”

“I suspected.” He ached to touch her. He knew
if she let him, there was a chance, but as he raised a hand, she
flinched.